iBasis announced Monday it has become an associate member of the i3forum, a group that seeks to ease the migration to IP services by establishing standards for interconnection.
The i3forum was founded in 2007 by eight international carriers, including AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, SingTel, Telecom Italia Sparkle, Telekomunikacja Polska, Telefonica International Wholesale Services and Teliasonera International Carrier. Fifteen additional carriers have joined the initiative, including iBasis, Rogers, Telus, Tata Communications, Sprint, Verizon, British Telecom, Belgacom ICS, Telkom Austria, SFR, Telkom South Africa, Etisalat, PLDT/Smart, NTT, Telecom New Zealand International.
One of the first objectives of the i3forum is to recommend a range of network architectures based on existing standards specified by international bodies such as the ITU-T and the IETF to create bilateral VoIP interconnections. iBasis and other members will work on the development of international service interconnection requirements for different players and services. Ultimately, the goal is for end-users to be able to enjoy, on an international basis, IP-enabled services and applications such as streaming video, high-bandwidth conferencing, and voice calls across all networks.
“The i3forum’s goal is to standardize best-practices and regulations for migrating thousands of existing TDM international voice bilaterals to IP interconnects – an area where iBasis has particular expertise,” said Ajay Joseph, CTO of iBasis. “With over a decade of work in this realm – encompassing diverse markets, network types and standards development efforts, and as a leading carrier of international voice traffic –we’re eager to add value where we can to help ensure the continued growth and progress of global telecommunications.”
Founded in 1996, iBasis was purely a VoIP wholesale carrier for the first 10 years of its existence. The company deployed its overlay network in major telecom hubs around the world and developed technologies to achieve quality of service comparable to traditional wholesale TDM service. Today, iBasis is one of the three largest carriers of international voice traffic globally, as well as a provider of retail prepaid calling services and enhanced services for mobile operators.
